[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 17, 2015)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D286-D287]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

Committee Meetings
(Committees not listed did not meet)
APPROPRIATIONS: DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural 
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies 
concluded a hearing to examine proposed budget estimates and 
justification for fiscal year 2016 for the Department of Agriculture, 
after receiving testimony from Thomas Vilsack, Secretary of 
Agriculture.
APPROPRIATIONS: MILITARY SERVICES
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Military Construction and 
Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies concluded a hearing to examine 
proposed budget estimates and justification for fiscal year 2016 for 
the military services, after receiving testimony from Lieutenant 
General David D. Halverson, Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation 
Management, and Commanding General, Installation Management Command, 
Erin Kern, Director, Shore Readiness Division, United States Navy, 
David R. Clifton, Deputy Assistant Deputy Commandant, Facilities, 
Installations and Logistics Department, and Deputy Commander, Marine 
Corps Installations Command, United States Marine Corps, and Brigadier 
General Timothy S. Green, USAF, Air Force Director of Civil Engineers, 
Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Installations and Mission Support, 
all of the Department of Defense.
APPROPRIATIONS: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS AND ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL
Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Legislative Branch 
concluded a hearing to examine proposed budget estimates and 
justification for fiscal year 2016 for the Library of Congress and the 
Architect of the Capitol, after receiving testimony from James 
Billington, Librarian of Congress, Robert Newlen, Chief of Staff, Mark 
Sweeney, Associate Librarian for Library Services, Maria Pallante, 
Register of Copyrights, Mary Mazanec, Director of Congressional 
Research Service, Elizabeth Scheffler, Acting Chief Information 
Officer, and Karen Keninger, Director of National Library Service Books 
for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, all of the Library of 
Congress; and Stephen T. Ayers, Architect of the Capitol.
DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION REQUEST AND FUTURE YEARS DEFENSE PROGRAM
Committee on Armed Services: Committee received a closed briefing on 
cyber, space and strategic competition with China and Russia in review 
of the Defense Authorization Request for fiscal year 2016 and the 
Future Years Defense Program from Admiral Cecil D. Haney, USN, 
Commander, United States Strategic Command, Admiral Michael S. Rogers, 
USN, Commander, United States Cyber Command, Director, National 
Security Agency, and Chief, Central Security Services, and General John 
E. Hyten, USAF, Commander, Air Force Space Command, all of the 
Department of Defense.
TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION BUDGET
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: Subcommittee on 
Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security concluded an oversight 
hearing to examine the President's proposed budget request for fiscal 
year 2016 for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), after 
receiving testimony from Melvin Carraway, Acting Administrator, 
Transportation Security Administration, Department of Homeland 
Security.
TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION RELATED TO THE ELECTRIC GRID
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: Committee concluded a 
hearing to examine the state of technological innovation related to the 
electric grid, after receiving testimony from Peter Littlewood, 
Director, Argonne National Laboratory, and Jeffrey Taft, Chief 
Architect for Electric Grid Transformation, Pacific Northwest National 
Laboratory, both of the Department of Energy; Lisa Edgar, Florida 
Public Service Commission Commissioner, Tallahassee, on behalf of the 
National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners; Michael 
Howard, Electric Power Research Institute, Washington, D.C.; and Lisa 
M. Barton, American Electric Power, Gahanna, Ohio.
BIPARTISAN SPORTSMEN'S ACT
Committee on Environment and Public Works: Subcommittee on Fisheries, 
Water, and Wildlife concluded a hearing to examine S. 659, to protect 
and enhance opportunities for recreational hunting, fishing, and 
shooting, after receiving testimony from Jeff Crane, Congressional 
Sportsmen's Foundation, Washington, D.C.; Dale Hall, Ducks Unlimited, 
Inc., Memphis, Tennessee; and Wayne Pacelle, The Humane Society of the 
United States, New Haven, Connecticut.
BUILDING A COMPETITIVE UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TAX SYSTEM
Committee on Finance: Committee concluded a hearing to examine building 
a competitive United States international tax system, after receiving 
testimony from Pamela F. Olson, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Washington, 
D.C.; Anthony Smith, Thermo Fisher

[[Page D287]]

Scientific Inc., Waltham, Massachusetts; Rosanne Altshuler, Rutgers 
University, New Brunswick, New Jersey; and Stephen E. Shay, Harvard Law 
School, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC CRISIS IN VENEZUELA
Committee on Foreign Relations: Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, 
Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and 
Global Women's Issues concluded a hearing to examine the deepening 
political and economic crisis in Venezuela, focusing on implications 
for United States interests and the Western Hemisphere, after receiving 
testimony from Edward Alexander Lee, Deputy Assistant Secretary of 
State, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs; John E. Smith, Acting 
Director, Office of Foreign Assets Control, Department of the Treasury; 
Douglas Farah, IBI Consultants LLC, Takoma Park, Maryland; Santiago A. 
Canton, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Washington, D.C.; and 
Christopher Sabatini, Columbia University School of International and 
Public Affairs, New York, New York.
SECURING THE SOUTHWEST BORDER
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Committee 
concluded a hearing to examine securing the Southwest border, focusing 
on perspectives from beyond the beltway, after receiving testimony from 
Chris Cabrera, National Border Patrol Council, Kingsville, Texas; Mark 
J. Dannels, Cochise County Sheriff, Bisbee, Arizona; Howard G. Buffett, 
The Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Decatur, Illinois; and Monica 
Weisberg-Stewart, Texas Border Coalition Committee on Border Security 
and Immigration, and Othal Brand, Jr., both of McAllen, Texas.
AMERICA'S HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: Committee 
concluded a hearing to examine America's health information technology 
(IT) transformation, focusing on translating the promise of electronic 
health records into better care, after receiving testimony from Julia 
Adler-Milstein, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann 
Arbor; Robert Wergin, American Academy of Family Physicians, Milford, 
Nebraska; Peter DeVault, Epic, Madison, Wisconsin; and Angela Kennedy, 
Louisiana Tech University, Ruston.
IMMIGRATION REFORM
Committee on the Judiciary: Committee concluded a hearing to examine 
immigration reform, focusing on the American worker, after receiving 
testimony from Richard L. Trumka, AFL-CIO, Ronil Hira, Howard 
University, and Benjamin Johnson, American Immigration Council, all of 
Washington, D.C.; Bjorn Billhardt, Enspire, Austin, Texas; John M. 
Miano, Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, Bellevue; Hal 
Salzman, Rutgers University E.J. Bloustein School of Planning and 
Public Policy J.J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, New 
Brunswick, New Jersey; and Jack B. Palmer Jr., Montgomery, Alabama.
INTELLIGENCE
Select Committee on Intelligence: Committee met in closed session to 
receive a briefing on certain intelligence matters from officials of 
the intelligence community.